Interference
by kshorty23
Summary: Rin Ishibashi and Light Yagami star in this story filled with witty mind battles and possibly some romance, given that they can stop fighting long enough. The thing is, Rin knows a dark secret about Light that could expose him for who he really is... Kira
1. Prologue

Interference

Rin Ishibashi, eighteen years- old, freshman at the prestigious To-Oh University. Top of her high school class, and ranked second upon her entrance exams. She is surpassed by two male peers, Hideki Ryuga and Light Yagami. She is currently studying law.

~†~†~

Rin took her seat at the entrance ceremony, crossing her legs casually as she observed her surroundings. She sat on the inside, next to the long aisle that led up to the long stage. Two students walked past her as she looked out. One was a tall gentleman with golden-brown hair and a dignified aura. He seemed professional and well dressed, but the one following him was his complete polar opposite. He walked in a hunched manner, wearing a plain, long sleeved white shirt and a pair of old jeans. His clunky tennis shoes followed close behind the other male as he strolled, obviously oblivious to everyone else in the room. His bushy, unkempt dark hair covered most of his face in a mysterious manner.

The two young men approached the podium, each taking turns reading from the entrance speech as designated freshman representatives. Rin refrained from clapping as the audience applauded. They both stepped down and seemed to be talking amongst themselves as they sat. The unusual one, Ryuga, sat in a most unorthodox way, with his knees in the air and feet on the bottom of the chair. She continued to watch them converse, disgusted.

_That speech had my name written all over it. Then these two step in and take it from me in an instant. And then, they have the nerve to be civil to one another? Despicable. Hmph, they sure have made a point to go out of their way to avoid me, that's for sure. I wouldn't want to talk to them anyway._

As everyone began to leave the building, Rin stood haughtily and marched out onto the stone steps. Her long, ebony hair whipped around in the wind as the sakura petals danced in the air flowingly. She took a deep breath, catching a waft of the April air in gratitude, only for it to be ruined by the sight of her two new enemies.

Ryuga was stepping into a limousine as many people began to chat about how having brains and riches were an injustice. Rolling her eyes, she began to start towards home. Something caught her eye though. A small, black book lay on the ground in Yagami's path as he walked away. She looked down at it before picking it up and flipping through the pages.

_Pfft, figures. It's just a schedule book._

As she began to close it, she noticed a return address on the inside of the first page. Rin took another calming deep breath, debating on whether she should return it or not. On the downside, she would actually have to _talk_ to the guy. But on the other hand, it was a prime opportunity to introduce herself and declare war.

Sneering to herself, Rin continued to walk down to the edge of the curb and flagged down a taxi. Stepping inside briskly, she uttered her address absentmindedly as her thoughts buzzed around in her skull. Taking the book back for the simple satisfaction of showing him up was a bold move. But then again… was that the reason she felt inclined to return it? Regardless, she peered out the window and watched the outside world pass her by. Oh… she would return it all right. But first, she had to head home and _freshen up._

By the time Rin had arrived at her house and re-dressed, Light would have been nearing his own house. It wasn't far from her own, a short cab ride though town and she'd be on his doorstep. Strolling down the upstairs hallway, Rin passed the mirror on the wall and fluffed up her hair, adjusting her shirt to show the slightest amount of cleavage. Taking a deep breath, she smiled and turned, jogging down the steps at a break-neck pace.

"Rin?"

Rin peered into the living room, spotting her mother on the couch with a magazine in hand. Sighing discreetly, she put on a smile and waved. "Sorry Mom, I have to run back to the university real quick. I'm meeting someone for tutoring."

Rin's mother nodded slowly, smiling herself. "All right, but be back around seven for supper."

"I will!" Rin called in as she closed the front door. The taxi she had called was sitting there on the street waiting for her, and she quickly obliged.

As the vehicle came to a stop, Rin paid the driver and approached the tall house that stood before her. The yellow lights coming from inside of it shone through the windows and onto the sidewalk as she came to the door earnestly. Reaching out and ringing the doorbell, Rin was surprised when she met the face of a small girl. The girl, most likely a junior-high student, stared at Rin with big eyes and a bewildered expression. Rin could hear the television blaring in the background, and the girl had a small bag of chips in her grasp.

"Uh, hi."

Rin gave her a small bow, smiling convincingly. "Hello, I'm a friend of Light's. He left an important notebook at school and I wanted to return it to him. Is he home?"

The girl blinked twice before smiling in return, munching on another potato chip. "Yeah, he's upstairs in his room. You got here just in time, actually. He just came back."

Rin stood up straight, nodding in acknowledgment as she headed up the stairs. "Thank you very much." She ascended slowly, peering down the upcoming hallway. Looking around , she scrutinized every little detail of her surroundings.

_Well, his mother keeps a clean house._

Rin was interrupted mid-thought as an almost inaudible cry came from one room, blaring out to her ears and sending a disturbing chill down her spine. Moving with extreme caution, she approached the wooden surface and pressed her ear against it feverishly.

"That damn L… I've been so humiliated in my entire life!"

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **Okay, since I used Light's dialog word for word from the manga, I will hereby say that I own nothing. All characters (except for Rin and her family) belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. They are the true geniuses, not me. =D

Please don't forget to review! I will be sure to reply with any constructive criticism you can provide!


	2. Chapter 1 Confrontation

Rin clasped a hand to her mouth, stunned as she overheard the burst from behind the door. The very sound of his crazed voice caused goose bumps to appear on her pale skin. It took her a moment to recover from the shock, but she quickly dove into her pocket and retrieved her cell phone. Without delay, she silenced it and skimmed through the menu, approaching the recording options. She soon found the correct command, and pressed the main button to begin recording. A moment went by before yet another verbal explosion sounded. "…Right, and then what if that guy isn't really L? That would be like telling L straight out that I'm Kira!"

Rin pulled away from the door in a daze, recollecting her thoughts. _Wait… Kira?! Light is Kira? That's… astounding! How did he ever conceal it until now? His father is the Chief of police! And… what's this about L? Surely he must mean the famous detective… who else would he be inferring? _

It wasn't long until Rin heard Light's panicky voice ringing through the air. "Shinigami killing people and humans killing people are very different things, okay? So don't lump them together."

Rin's hand that rested upon the door began to shake involuntarily at the sound of that single word, and she had to pull away to prevent her phone from making any noise. _Sh-Shinigami?! That can't be! They don't exist!_

"With the Death Note, only the person whose name I write will die. I can't control someone's actions to make them kill him. This damn Death Note is totally useless, Ryuk. At first, I thought if I could only find out his name, I could make him get in an accident or commit suicide… but that would only work if I was a hundred percent sure he was L. No. Even if I _was_ sure he's really L, now that he's told me who he is, it's probably too late… no matter how I did it, if L dies, the police will suspect me… I under-rated him.

"Before L lost credit with the police, he figured out that Kira needed to know someone's name to kill him. And he sensed that I might be Kira. Meanwhile, I was trying to isolate him from the police and thinking only about making them expose him publicly… but I never imagined that L would come up to me saying 'I am L.'

"… It doesn't matter if the guy's a proxy, the point is he approaches someone he suspects of being Kira and tells them he's L… that's a really effective way for L to shield himself from Kira, and a form of attack at the same time. He got me… that was a good move."

There was a long pause, during which Rin had to cover her mouth as to not create unnecessary sound. Her breathing was becoming very unsteady. _A… Death Note? A person's name that is written in it will die? That must be Kira's tool! Light's tool… he must be guarding these secrets with his life. And L… the famous detective… he's revealed himself, and furthermore, put Kira in a tight spot. Yet Light had plotted against him by discrediting his work… _

Rin was interrupted in mid-thought once more as she heard a sardonic, maniacal laugh escape Light's lips. Her eyes widened as she stifled a gasp.

"That's right… no need to be so negative. This is proof that _he_ doesn't have any proof. So now we'll go one-on-one. Let's see who's smarter! On the surface, we'll be buddies. But below the surface… we'll both be trying to find out who the other one really is. I like this, Ryuga. If you want to be friends with me, I'll gladly hang out with you. I'll make you trust me. And when you've told me everything I need to know, I'll kill you."

~†~†~

There was a long silence after that, and Light stood from his desk chair. Resting his hands on his sides, he turned to Ryuk casually. "We'll just have to see how things go tomorrow. I'm not exactly positive, but I'm pretty sure he'll try to get closer to me. He'll… huh?" Light paused for a moment and noticed the peculiar look on the Shinigami face. "What's the matter?"

Ryuk cleared his throat, still transfixed from Light's earlier display. "Well, I'm only saying this because it's really bugging me."

Light smiled tersely, turning around and plopping on his soft bed. "I know… you made your point when I was being tailed by that F.B.I. agent. So tell me, what's on your mind?"

Ryuk turned in midair from his leisurely pose and stared at Light's face. "I just wanted to say that someone has been listening to you blab on for some time now."

Light sat upright in an instant, moving as quickly as humanly possible to his bedroom door. He flung it open with great gusto, only to be greeted by an empty hallway. He scanned the area carefully, his eyes darting every which way, until they spied a familiar notebook laying face up on the table set against the opposite wall. He moved forward and picked it up, recognizing the schedule book at once. Light turned around briskly and closed the door behind him, and threw the book across the room in a heated fury.

~†~†~

Rin rushed home, having left Light's schedule book on a table outside his room. Her prospect of showing him up in a heated confrontation wasn't exactly at the top of her priority list at the moment. Once inside her safe abode, she moved briskly to her room on the second floor. Once there, she locked the door behind her without a moment's delay. Rin exhaled deeply, wrapping her arms around her stomach and sinking to the floor. Her body was in a frenzy of convulsions as she repeatedly played the scene through her head.

She whipped out her phone, finding the recording she had made. As soon as she started it, Light's sonorous voice echoed throughout the quiet room. The air was stagnant with his sadistic cackles. She let it play through a few times before she lifted herself from the floor and grabbed a notepad and her favorite fountain pen. She thought through each and every word, listened to the changes in his tone, and deciphered the sketchy areas, like the Death Note, the Shinigami, and L.

_Alright… he's obviously talking to someone. At first, I thought he was simply mad, speaking aloud to himself. But there are moments where he pauses, and replies to some unknown voice. This is evident when he says '…Right, and then what if that guy isn't really L? That would be like telling L straight out that I'm Kira.' But… would it be preposterous to suggest that this unheard third party is in fact a Shinigami? It sounded ridiculous, but not as much as a killer notebook. So… that is the only possibility. _

Rin was able to deduce a few details about the notebook. For starters, whoever has their name written in it gets a death sentence. Furthermore, you couldn't control someone and make him or her kill another person for you. Light had also said that he would have made L commit suicide or become involved in an accident… so this meant that Kira could manipulate deaths in ways other than heart attacks.

Light also mentioned some kind of conspiracy to reveal L's identity, but now he was faced with Ryuga, who had revealed himself as L. That must have been tough on him… not knowing whether Ryuga was a stand-in or the real deal.

The last bit to the recording gave Rin the chills each and every time it rang through the room. Light's laugh… it was unsettling, yes, but in some way… it seemed _intriguing_. His voice had certain madness to it that drew her in. She knew that the very idea of being attracted to a crazy serial killer wasn't the healthiest of choices, but at least it wasn't boring.

~†~†~

"Sayu!" Light hurried down the staircase, trying to conceal his heightened nerves.

"Huh? Light, what is it? You seem kind of jumpy." Light's younger sister sat on the couch, munching on a bag of potato chips with side eyes. "Is something wrong?"

Light's mind was already on its analytical path. Sayu didn't seem troubled or frightened, it couldn't have been her. She had never been the type to eavesdrop anyway. With this new knowledge, he approached her and leaned against the back of the sofa, schedule book still in hand.

Sayu perked up instantly. "Oh, so you talked to that girl must be. I see she returned your notebook, safe and sound." She smiled, unaware, taking a bite out of a salty chip.

Light froze. "A girl, huh?"

"Duh! Are you stupid or something? She had long black hair, super pretty! Definitely hard to miss."

Light shook his head, looking away to conceal his frazzled expression. "She just left it at my door. She must not have wanted to disturb me. But I think I know who you're talking about, so I'll be sure to thank her tomorrow." He stood without looking at his sister again, headed in the direction of his room.

Sayu shrugged her shoulders, dismissing the topic. "Geez Light, you're such a lady's man," she said, becoming engrossed in the television program.

Light moved swiftly into his bedroom, locking the door as usual, and stared at the ceiling with fierce anger and frustration. How could he have been so careless? This incident could be the very end of him! The only way out of this was to learn this mystery girl's name, and fast. He needed to dispose of her as quickly as possible before she could do any harm.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **Okay, since I used Light's dialog word for word from the manga, I will hereby say that I own nothing. All characters (except for Rin and her family) belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. They are the true geniuses, not me. =D

Alright, I apologize for not writing in eons. But this little bit should keep you entertained for a little while, right...? But anyway, the good news is I have a lot of this story written down, just not typed out and structured. So it isn't a matter of me having writers block, it's just pure laziness. ^_^;; But Spring Break = free time, so here I am! Enjoy it while it lasts. But from now on, I promise to write over the weekends. Enjoy!

Also, after reading, please don't forget to submit reviews! I love hearing from my readers, and I'll be sure to respond as soon as I can. Thanks!


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